I've had this fibreglass lifecast hanging on my wall for years and I always intended to add eyes and paint it up, so I finally got round to starting it. I've never seen a lifesize bust of Ash (except for the head on the lifesize head to toe statue from Oxmox and a pretty bland silicon bust on eBay) and I need one to put with my lifesize Evil Ash bust, so I thought I'd get cracking.

This is the lifecast I started with - it's a cast of Bruce Campbell taken during production of the first Evil Dead movie. Unlike the one shown here, mine was hollow fibreglass (and not solid plaster):

From here, I used my dremel to cut out the closed eyes, inserted some acrylic eyes and "sculpted" back in the eyelids. I was then going to paint it as this was originally intended to be a quick, cheap project. I decided to extend it further though (not a big fan of wall mounted half-heads). So, I then tweaked the eyelids a bit more (I made originally scored lines in for the creases and it looked terrible) and added Ash's iconic scars that he gets at the end of the ED2:

Then base coat:

Now, two things - 1) As this was origanlly going to be a VERY low budget build I used plastic dolls eyes. The irises therefore look too large compared with if I had gone with expensive custom eyes. Unfortunately they're really well secured in there, so there's no changing them now. And 2) I am not a great sculptor and am having to work with Milliput which air dries in about 5-10 minutes - sadly I just can't figure out how to get the top eyelids to incorporate the crease needed to make them look more accurate. Again, it's going to have to be a "good-enough" job. I'll see if I can make up for it with the painting and eyebrows.

I was going to just paint and be finished with it at this point. But the lack of ears was annoying me. And if I'm going to add ears, I'm going to have to add a bit more head, so I might as well do the whole head...

As I said, I'm working on a very small budget, so I didn't want to buy clay, silicon and resin just to do the back half of a head (which will be mostly covered by a wig). I toyed with using a cut-up polystyrene head (measurements showed they were too small), and with using a cast of the back of my head (but Ash's head is slimmer than mine so wouldn't line up properly), but in the end I came up with a decent budget option.

Having measured the head, I bought 6 floral foam blocks and hot glued them together to give a workable size piece:

Then press the lifecast down into the foam block about 1cm and remove:

Use the outline to cut out the correct size:

Then, as it's floral foam, simply use a sharp knife to carve the block to shape (easy as slicing through butter):

Floral foam is obviously not strong enough (heck, you can press your fingers right into it), so remove:

And then cover with mud-roc bandages (bandages pre-treated with plaster - just cut to size, dip in water, then slap on and smooth out):

Now he needs some ears!

I've searched online to see if I could buy any resin human ears, but everything available I found is either latex, rubber or only one ear (not a pair). So I dug out some old alginate powder and am going to have a go at lifecasting my own ears to add to the bust. Stay tuned....

Too Much Garlic, sure, fire away. Can't promise I'll actually be able to implement what you suggest, but I'm open to listening. As it is, I've tweaked the eyes a little since the last pics (as you can see in my new ones) - I've added the inner caruncle (had to google what that bit was! http://www.taxidermy.net/forum/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=217540.0;attach=107247;image) and added a fold on the upper eyelids (in the 1st movie Ash has surprisingly wrinkle free upper and lower eyelids).

OK, so he needed some ears - I had alginate, Mud-Roc bandages and plaster on hand, so (with the help of my wife) I did a life cast of my own ears. This was our first ever life-casting session, so it wasn't flawless - the molds came out great, but unfortunately I mixed the plaster a bit too thick, so I didn't get the eartips cast properly. Still, after a bit more filling and sculpting with Milliput, I got them done:

After I had these done, I placed them on the side of Ash's head and drew around where they would need to be sunken into the head. I them used the dremel to cut around this section and expose the floral foam underneath:

As I used floral foam, I could them just push the ears in to the correct depth then hot glue them in place. Once that was done I filled all seams/gaps with more Milliput (and added eyelid crease):

Once dry, I then sanded everything smooth and painted the base colour over everything (apart from the section that will be covered with a wig).

BTW, my base paint is "Kislev Flesh" from Citadel (available at Games Workshop stores). I apply it by stippling it on with an old (now splayed) brush. Stippling means that you avoid brush strokes and it also gives a good skin texture when dried (great for when you paint over a section that's been sanded smooth).

Hey, it's your bust, you don't have to do anything I suggest. These are just suggestions that you can implement or ignore without any issues. Completely up to you.

I've seen that many begin to add filler to the eye lids and build them up on top of the cast, which just isn't needed. Building up on top of the upper eye socket fold will only give a bug-eyed effect and the eye will stick out further at the top than it should, giving the whole eye a downward angle look. Any eyelid that should be made should tuck in under the already present skin fold above the eye.

I don't know whether you want to remedy that or just leave it and attempt to rebuild that skin fold on top of your new work, or whether you'd a complete rebuild with basically grinding off all the milliput you added. Let me know and I can adjust my suggestions to whatever you decide.

One thing though. The caruncula should be lowered. For some reason it was impossible to quickly find a straight on shot of Bruce Campbell that wasn't some insane expression, but I did my best to approximate the eye shape. Making this fix will greatly help the likeness, even if you don't decide to do a complete eyelid rebuild.

Also, I'd also suggest raising the ears by a great deal. I know the face is photographed at chin angle, but his ears sit higher and should be more level with his eyes when looking at him straight on.

I don't know what expression you are after, but the signature look with the slightly squinting left eye and wider right eye with the arched right eyebrow seems to fit the expression of the face cast, so I drew in those eyebrows too.

I was trying to line up the bottom of the ears with the bottom section of ear that appeared on the original lifecast. Looking at it and comparing to pics of Bruce, the ears do appear far too low. I guess they weren't really parts of his ears on the original cast. Maybe some anomoly from the casting process. Guess I'm gonna have to try to cut them off and move them.....

I had already decided I didn't like the built up fold on the upper eyelid before reading your post and have dremelled it off. Need to try to get it to fold "under" the original piece now though....

I'll see about correcting the caruncula. Not sure if I can without scratching the plastic eye though.

To me the bulge at the back of the jaw looks more like a skull cap or something he put on to cover hair and ears.

Any way you can pop the eyes out or are they in there for good? You can tape up the surrounding area, then dremel away gently and stopping before going all the way down to the eye, then use small files for the rest, working slowly and carefully.

Looking forward to seeing your progress. A good idea is to find as many pictures of his eyes as you can, so you have something to look at while working.

OK, so the biggest thing bugging me (since it was pointed out) was the ears. With a heavy heart, I set to him with the dremel and cut around the ears, then cut out the new position from the side of the head. Hotglued the ear in place and filled in part of the left over void with a piece of sheet styrene and hot glue.

I then used more Milliput to fill the gap in. After that I added a little bit to the skin just above the eyelids (not ON the eyelids like last time) in order to create a crease where the eyelid folds back on itself.

The eyes are stuck fast - the Milliput has bonded with the plastic eyes. That said, I looked at your guide line, drew it on and VERY carefully dremelled down the eyelids as close to the eye as possible without touching them and then used a blunted blade to scrape down to the plastic eye. Both eyes have been opened up a bit more closer to the nose on the bottom lid, and new, lower caruncula have been added. I think I'm done with the eyes now. Doing this slightly scratched the surface of the eyes a little so I'm loathed to alter them any more.

OK, I decided that after all the back and forth work on Ash there was just one thing that I still wasn't happy about. The eyes would have to go....

Unfortunately, as they were well and truely bonded in there, there was just one solution - bust out the dremel and destroy those suckers!

I had to VERY carefully rotary sand the plastic eyes without touching any of the Milliput eyelids. To help, I cut a large hole in the back of the head and inserted the dremel to clear out the leftover eye pieces so new ones could inserted. Took a bit of doing, but I'm MUCH happier now that those huge ones are gone.

So, the next question is: what size of eyes should I buy? I'll need 28mm eyes and am planning on getting ones from Tech Optics, but what iris size to get?

In the past I've used 11mm diameter irises (as recommended by a member here). But I'm not sure if I should use those or the more standard 13mm iris. Looking in the mirror with a ruler up against them, my own iris is definitely 13mm, rather than 11mm, but 11mm has looked better in past busts (depends on the eye opening size I guess).

I had these blue plastic eyes on hand (which I have Photoshopped to being brown). These are 13mm iris. So does this look good, or should they be a bit smaller (11mm)?

This is the expression I'll probably go with (as it suits the open mouth).

And while the decision on eyes in being made, I'm getting on with the paint job.

A few people asked for a tutorial on how I did my skintone on my Arnie paintup, so I will try to make this paintup a step by step.

I don't use airbrushes, I only use brushes and fingers. So here's my process:

As I've stated before, I started with a base coat of Kislev Flesh (from Citadel) which I stippled on for texture (this is what you see in all previous pictures).

Next step, a wash of Elf Flesh (from Citadel) - this is a very light shade. I put a little paint on my brush, then dip the end in a pot of water so that it just breaks the surface, then wipe on the side of the pot to get rid of excess and mix the paint and water. Watered down wash applied:

Next I applied a wash of Tan Light Ochre (also from Citadel), being sure to thin this out quite a lot as it's quite a strong colour:

As this is still quite an orangey tone I then took the Elf Flesh and used this to tone back down again. I put a little on a brush (without mixing it with water) and dab it on the skin. Then I use my finger to smear it out and spread it, or pat my finger up and down over the paint to stipple it and blend it that way:

I applied a (thick-ish) wash of Dwarf Flesh (Citadel paint), rubbing it in with a fingertip - this is where Ash looks like he's been in the sun way too long:

From there, I then applied some Elf Flesh (Citadel paint) by mottling it on - dab some on with an old splayed brush, then pat it out/down with a fingertip (looks like he's frozen now!):

Still looking too blotchy, so I applied a wash of Elf Flesh (this was thinned down a lot with water) with a very soft brush:

Then, as that looks a little too pale, I applied more Dwarf Flesh by mottling it on with a small brush and patting/blending it down with a fingertip. I then used the Dwarf Flesh to paint in the lips and scars, making sure to blend out the edges.

Then I started adding more fine detail - here I added the stubble, shading on either side of the bridge of the nose, and shading around the eyes with Humbrol matt "Steel Grey" #87, thinned down with paint thinner and applied with a soft brush:

I then added a little more bruising around the scars (mainly around the large C-shaped scar on his right - as you look at him - cheek) with Humbrol gloss "Crimson" #20 thinned down. I also used "Scab Red" (from Citadel) watered down to add detail to the lips and inside the eyes, and watered down Lilac (forgot to note the brand) on the bags under the eyes. Finally, I added Humbrol matt black #33 inside the mouth and blended out the edges, giving more shape to the bottom lip:

At this point, the only paint that I will add is red blood on the scars (will probably use Scab Red mixed with clear epoxy) . Can't do that though until I add the eyebrows, as the blood overlaps them. And can't add the eyebrows until I have a wig (as I use trimming from the wig to glue on as eyebrows).

So, next steps, order eyes and a wig.

Question is though, what size iris? 13mm (as shown above), or 11mm?
And what wig?

That is turning out really nice.
Have you thought of adding in a little more neck/chest so that you can display your bust on a mannequin in the future.

There is not many Bruce Campbell busts out there & the lifecast modification is the way to go.
With most lifecasts being so cheap & readily available you can definitely put together a really nice display for a reasonable price.

That is turning out really nice.
Have you thought of adding in a little more neck/chest so that you can display your bust on a mannequin in the future.

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It's a good idea. I probably won't though. If I can get away with putting the head on some shoulders and adding a shirt, done up high enough to hide the bottom of the neck, I might.

I've got a wig ordered for the bust. Going through a great pile of them, I thought this looked the closest:

It will of course need styled a bit more and have wet-look gel added. Hopefully the colour will be darker than it appears in the pic (most wigs I've ordered online turn out to be darker than they're shown), otherwise I may have to darken it myself a little.

Still not sure on the eye size though. I'm going to order some 11mm irirs eyes for my Arnie bust (to replace his weird huge-iris eyes) and see how they look in Ash. If the size is right, I'll order another pair in dark brown. Otherwise I'll get them in 13mm in dark brown.

When inserting eyes again, don't make them sit in a position where the eyelids cut off the same amount of the iris top and bottom. It will make the piece have a tired, careless expression. Place them so the bottom clips less of the iris than the top - like you can see in the wig picture you posted.

Great work!!!! Thanks very much for the tutorial. I never thought about using anything other the an airbrush to paint a bust. The skin tones on your busts are incredible. Next bust I am painting will be using your method.

I let the layers dry thoroughly before applying the next. This is important when you are about to apply a wash, but less important if you're about to apply a mottle, as it will, as you say, allow the colour to blend.

This is not really a hard and fast way of doing things (though it works). I don't really follow a formula when painting, I just go back and forth with colours until it looks right. I've probably not painted any two busts exactly the same way, but just recorded this particular "formula" as I went along as I was asked about the method I use on the last paintjob I did.

So I finally got the eyebrows done. Glued on (Elmer's/PVA glue) small clumnps at a time, then trimmed, then plucked, then layered in around the edges with individual hairs. I would have liked to do the one-eyebrow-up expression, but was limited by the eyesocket ridge shape that was already there.

The eye socket really has nothing to do with the eyebrows - it always stays in the same place regardless of how you move your eyebrows. You could have placed one of them slightly up without it looking out of place. The face cast certainly lent itself to that expression.

True, the eye sockets themselves don't move, but the musculature around them does. I tried raising just one eyebrow in front of the mirror and it changes facial shapes around the eye (which I did not have on this bust) so I went in a different direction. That said, the large iris eyes in the last pic I posted of him do give him a very bland expression.

I got in the new eyes for my Terminator bust with smaller 11.3mm irises and wanted to try that out before placing on order for eyes for Ash. As you can see from the pic below, I think the smaller 11.3mm is definitely the way to go. MUCH more expression now.

Remember, these eyes will be dark brown (not Hazel as shown here) - and there will be eyelashes:

Eyes are better. Just wondering: do you want that downward look? You can go really crazy and have him look slightly to one side and slightly up, meaning that some of the iris will be covered by the upper eye lid.

Also, you should trim and shape the eyebrows to match more how they look on the actor - angle things some more.

Eyes are better. Just wondering: do you want that downward look? You can go really crazy and have him look slightly to one side and slightly up, meaning that some of the iris will be covered by the upper eye lid.

Also, you should trim and shape the eyebrows to match more how they look on the actor - angle things some more.

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Not sure on the final look yet. I've experimented with some other eye positions - the other look I may go for is slightly to one side and down:

I'm reluctant to have him look to the side and up because coving the top of the iris will loose the surprised/scared look.

I will have a look at the eyebrows and see if I can make them more angular.

Awsome tutorial mate. I this the same set of colours you used on your t2 stage 4 bust?

Could you do me a favour please? Could you list the paints with their numbers as im have trouble tracking them all down. Im in the Uk too. Can I ask who you use to supply them?

Any other colours I may find useful whilst im ordering?

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Yes, this is basically the same colours as on Arnie. Though I think I used a bit more ochre on him as his skin tends to be a bit more brown.

What paint numbers are you after? Most of the paints that I've used are Citadel paints which don't come with numbers on then, just names. They're available at any Games Workshop. Though the Elf Flesh and Dwarf Flesh are now out of production (BOO!) so those will have to be ordered online (I got a small stock from eBay as soon as I heard they were being discontinued).

Not sure on the final look yet. I've experimented with some other eye positions - the other look I may go for is slightly to one side and down:

I'm reluctant to have him look to the side and up because coving the top of the iris will loose the surprised/scared look.

I will have a look at the eyebrows and see if I can make them more angular.

Yes, this is basically the same colours as on Arnie. Though I think I used a bit more ochre on him as his skin tends to be a bit more brown.

What paint numbers are you after? Most of the paints that I've used are Citadel paints which don't come with numbers on then, just names. They're available at any Games Workshop. Though the Elf Flesh and Dwarf Flesh are now out of production (BOO!) so those will have to be ordered online (I got a small stock from eBay as soon as I heard they were being discontinued).

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Thankyou howl! I will be tracking and ordering them today (in fact ive got a GW close to me.

Can I ask, what primer do I need for resin? Also what quantity of paint is required of each colour for something like this (im going to attempt my T2 which ive had for a while). They come as 12ml pots so is that more than enough once thinned?

I will also need some new brushes. Any recoomendations?

If you do a video, I would be more than happy with any type of cam lol

I suppose you can really use any type of primer, but I always use the Citadel bone white spray Primer (also from Games Workshop). Unlike most primers I've come across (such as those sold by Halfords for cars), it dries to a great texture (VERY slightly powdery, rather than glossy smooth) that paint works brilliantly with and it doesn't fill in pore details like other primers might.

One pot of each colour is usually more than enough for one head. If you're doing a big bust with shoulders (like Arnie), you may want to get 2 pots of your base colour, just to be sure.

No recommendations on brushes really - the one I use for mottling on the paint is ancient and really REALLY scabby and splayed (but it gives a great effect when mottling). Any new, decent paintbrushes I need I get from Hobby Craft.

was surprised to find a store within a mile from my house that sells citadel paints. The said the dwarf flesh and elf flesh were old colors and had 3 bottles of each for $1.50 each. bought the lot. Had the rest of the colors too. Thanks for the tutorial. Thinking about re-repainting my 1/1 watto using this technique.

Hey,
Nice job! I'm ridiculously new to rpf(in fact, this will forever be my very first post!).
I feel it is fitting since I worked for KNB fx in the early 90s and was lucky enough to help out a little on Army of Darkness. I just helped paint latex into the skeleton warrior armor molds, I did cooler stuff later on. Well, I just wanted to start reaching out, again, very cool. I'd encourage you to make a mold of the finished product.

New 28mm eyes with an 11.3mm brown iris from Tech Optics. And a dark brown wig.

Still have to cut and style the hair and add blood around the hairline, and I haven't tried to alter the eyebrows yet, and no eyelashes yet. I think I'll stick with this wig, but I may change to a gregory wig before cutting and styling. Thoughts?

Blood work was based on the left image, with hair based on the right image.

So, since the last update, I have sorted the hair - no cutting (Ash has long hair at the start of the film) but did style it using wet-look firm-hold hair gel, added eyelashes (individual hairs glued on), added blood along the hairline, and smudged/broke up the edges on the bloody scars.

Your resculpting and your paint RULES. LOVE the eyes (and thought the idea you had to have him looking off and down gave him some real personality).

I think your hair needs to be tweaked a little. Examine his hairline. I figure it might be really difficult to do anything with the resin, but you're almost there, and the project might benefit from a bit more tweaking.

The one other thing - and it's the thing that's holding this back from being just absolutely flawless in my view - the EYEBROWS. Look to their shape and the placement near the bridge of the nose.

Your work here is inspirational - I seriously feel like trying this myself after seeing that it can be done. The thing with the floral foam? And the ears? Just awesome problem solving, man. Truly.